Ipad 3g

Amazon has updated its Kindle app for the iPhone, iPod touch and iPad and added in a few really nice features like real page numbering, percentage read, and Google and Wikipedia lookup.

Kindle now provides real page numbers to books from the Kindle Store. This basically means that Kindle books will mirror the print versions page numbers. This may not sound like a big deal but if you are reading in a group or in class it is very important . Also you can now see how far you have read as a percentage whilst reading the book and the app home screen now shows your progress in a list view.

It looks likely that iOS 4.3 will not be arriving until March. The evidence, although a little sketchy, comes from The Daily! No it is not an article in the app, but a subtle change in the subscription information. When The Daily was originally launched, you were given two weeks of free access. It was free because iOS 4.2 does not have the subscription services required to enable regular billing.

The New York Plaza hotel has turned to the iPad to offer guests a little extra comfort during their stay. The rollout was completed in January and gives guests access to a huge list of features.

Some of the features include ordering of room service, restaurant reservations, wake up calls, city guides, check airline schedules and even printing of boarding passes. The iPad can even control the rooms lighting, heating and air conditioning as well as offering guests’ access to the web. The hotel worked with developer Intelity who customised its ICE software (Interactive Customer Experience) to provide the experience.

“Before in the guest rooms, we had another digital panel that controlled the lights, the temperature and some guest services," Shane Krige, general manager of The Plaza explained to Luxist. "But it wasn't sophisticated enough for what we wanted to do. So we teamed up with Intelity to devise the software for the program.” "We chose the iPad because it is a great piece of equipment that is here to stay and won't disappear tomorrow," adds Krige. "It brings another five star element to the hotel."

The iPad will not replace the current concierge service, but is meant to offer guests more choice should they wish to use it. The app will also be available in iTunes for guests to download and use on their iPhone too. There is a video after the break showing how it works!

The BBC iPlayer mobile app for the iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad is finally close to being released according to a report by Paid Content. The app was announced twelve months ago but needed the approval of the BBC Trust which was granted six months ago. The report suggest that the app will be released by the end of next month, coinciding with the departure of Erik Huggers, the BBC’s future media and technology director; who is leaving to join Intel.

A group has put together a band using only iPhones and iPads and recently AT&T hired them to perform at its 2011 Business Solutions event. The band known as North Point iBand performed Bon Jovi’s Livin' on a Prayer as well as the Black Eyed Peas’ I Gotta Feelin.

The band use a series of apps, all available in the App Store to create the music with their iPhones and iPads some of which are:-

Take a look at the videos after the break, although not perfect renditions of the original versions, they are still very impressive. The way iOS devices are being used in weird and wonderful situations is something that surprises us every day. I am off to buy Guitarist, anyone want to grab the other apps and set up the TiPb band?

Apple has approved an update to an app that required iOS 4.3 for all the features to work correctly. The app that has received the approved update is called StreamToMe. StreamToMe is an app that allows you to stream music, photos and videos from your Mac or PC over WiFi and 3G. Nothing special there except that this version has the option to use AirPlay which requires iOS 4.3 to function.

XBMC is now available as a jailbreak app for the Apple TV (2010), iPad and iPhone 4. XBMC, for those that do not know, is a free open source media center application, that until today was only available for Linux, OSX, Windows and the original Xbox.

The Apple TV version is a full XBMC install and allows full network sharing of media, hardware decoding of 720p and 1080p movies plus everything else that XBMC has to offer. The iPad version also offers full hardware accelerated video playback and network access to media. The iPhone 4 has been included in the release however the devs do point out that navigation is a bit frustrating.

The app is jailbreak only and you will not find it in the App Store anytime soon. It is free to install, so what are you waiting for? Check out the videos after the break, one running on the Apple TV2 and the other on the iPad then let us know if you’re going to be jailbreaking and installing XBMC!

Parts supplier Global Direct Parts has listings on its site for a replacement LCD screen for the iPad 2 and a vibrating motor. There is not much information on either item however the price of the LCD panel is rather interesting. The iPad 2 LCD is listed at a price of $218.19. When you compare this to the current iPad LCD price on the same site at a cost $69.99, this starts to make you wonder all sorts of things. Higher resolution displays anyone?

Online UK bank First Direct has launched an iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad app that lets you view your statement but also carry out some simple transactions too. Other UK banking apps are limited to viewing your account statements which is a handy feature to have; First Direct has taken it a step further.

The app will allow you to view your balances and your last 20 transactions, make transfers between your accounts but most importantly, make payments to other personal accounts or organisations. To use the service you must already be a registered First Direct internet banking user and payments can only be made to those accounts that you have setup online already.